Rafa Benitez targets Premier League return after Real Madrid axe

Rafa Benitez has managed clubs in Spain, England and Italy in the past.

Rafa Benitez has said it is his "priority" to return to the Premier League but is keeping his options open as he prepares to return to management.

Benitez, 55, is currently out of work after he was sacked as Real Madrid boss last month and worked as a BT Sport analyst for his former side's 2-0 victory over Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

He has recently been linked with a return to Valencia, where he won La Liga in 2001-02 and 2003-04, amid questions over Gary Neville but the former Liverpool said he is hoping to secure another job in England.

"Obviously I like the Premier League and it is a priority because my family lives on the Wirral [in North-West England], but it is not easy," he said on BT Sport.

"I was talking with Michael [Owen, former Liverpool striker and current BT pundit] about watching games, so I have to watch every league just in case."

When asked whether he is looking specifically at the Premier League, he replied: "Specifically for my wife -- she says, 'Come on, go, go, coach a team!' It's fine one month with the family and the children, but after one month she says, 'Come on, you have to get a job.' I like to be on the pitch."

Benitez, who has also managed Inter Milan and Napoli in Serie A, last managed in England in the 2012-13 season, when he replaced Roberto Di Matteo as Chelsea boss in November and guided the club to Europa League success.

"At the moment there are not the options," he said when asked if there were any clubs he had in mind for his next role.

"Now you play Champions League, you play the Europa League, so nobody will change the manager now, so you have to wait and just see games, analyse tactics, talk with the people who know the game and they give you information so you learn and can improve."